


Close To You

by bzx93



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Underage Kissing, cause Lance is under 18 and all that jazz, not so much love but the beginnings of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 12:37:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11944365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzx93/pseuds/bzx93
Summary: While the gang takes a brief respite on a tropical alien planet, Lance decides that it's now or never. Rated M for brief strong language.





	Close To You

**Author's Note:**

> So I actually went over this a few times trying to make it right and this is the final result! If you've taken a look at my other works in this fandom, you've probably noticed a common denominator ahaha (I'm super biased towards Shiro ok I love him). I also slipped in an homage to one of my favorite movies into the dialogue, let's see who picks up on it ~ Without further ado, I'm pretty satisfied with this one and I hope you all will be too. Please enjoy and comment!

   I kept my eyes glued to my burgundy slip-on sneakers as we walked along the shore of the soft, white, sandy beach. The moon’s pale light blanketed nearly everything in sight in an otherworldly silver glow. Like a thief trying to cloak their presence, the water lapped quietly at the sand. It inched its way close to my shoes, then retreated almost as quickly as if suddenly realizing my footsteps were threatening to disrupt its ebb and flow. I could make out the shadows of great palm trees reaching out with their spindly leaves like monstrous claws. They danced over the grains of sand to the rhythm of the wind that grew stronger, then weaker at its own behest. A myriad of sensory stimulants presented themselves for me to focus on so that I could try, in vain, to forgo the unavoidable conversation the lied in wait for me, ready to make a mess of my emotions. 

   My hands were balled up in the pockets of my black fully zipped windbreaker, my nails digging into the heels of my palms. I wondered if he could tell that my nerves were going haywire just being less than two feet from him. Did he see the way my hands trembled, even inside my pockets? No, he couldn’t, could he? I dared to steal a look toward him from the corners of my eyes. He was vision of beauty if I ever knew one. Wearing a nondescript black t-shirt and loose-fitting dark blue jeans with light grey sneakers, he still managed to have a certain  _ je ne sais quoi  _ about him. Was it the way the breeze pushed that little piece of white hair around at the top of his head? Or could it have been how the moon illuminated the sharp beauty of his nose and jaw? Another theory started to come together in my mind when he noticed my sadly conspicuous gaze and returned the favor. I swore that my soul vacated my body for a fraction of a second and all the blood within it came rushing to my face. 

   “I’m sorry,” I said, looking out ahead of us. 

   “Nothing to be sorry for,” he answered. “It’s really nice out. Kind of reminds me of Hawaii, back home.”  _ Home.  _ No amount of protecting the universe from total destruction could ease the nostalgic pain all of us paladins held in our hearts. 

   “I’ve never been,” I admitted in a small voice. My peripheral vision caught the beginning of a smile on Shiro’s lips. 

   “If you avoid the tourist traps, it’s a fantastic place. Especially if you like outdoors-y stuff.” It was my turn to smile now.

   “I practically lived on mountains. You know, back home. I loved hiking so much, went almost every chance I could.” 

   “You seem like the type,” Shiro noted, brushing aside some hair that had blown over his eyes. A sharp twinge touched my heart and my hands relaxed a little. 

   “You think so?” He gave a gallic shrug. 

   “Well, yeah. You’re headstrong, almost to a fault. You like to push the envelope so I couldn’t imagine some piles of rocks scaring you.” I let out a startled laugh when I nearly tripped over my feet as Shiro surprised me with a shove. Part of me wished he’d show this side of himself more often, but another part of me took joy in thinking maybe he saved it just for me. I’d run out of words to say and my anxiety tried to creep back into my heart, but I was too fixed on knowing that this version of Shiro was all mine. At least I was until six measly word ripped the figurative rug from right under me.

   “So, what’d you wanna ask me?” 

   “Huh?” I asked, not comprehending. 

   “You told me earlier today that you wanted to ask me something later, don’t you remember? It was while we were waiting for Pidge to finish her mods on our lions. You came over by me after she shooed you away when you started bugging her about giving your lion teleportation powers.”

   “It would’ve been so cool, though...” I said dejectedly. 

   “Yeah, that would’ve been pretty neat,” Shiro agreed. 

   “I know, right? Oh man, I’d be unstoppable!” I began demonstrating while walking how I’d hop into my trusty lion and zoom from one corner of a galaxy to another, saving millions of lives and being the greatest hero that ever lived, complete with sound effects and all. Shiro’s infectious grin showed itself again and did nothing but spur me on.  

   “I bet the Galra would be shaking in their boots. However, there’s two things wrong.”

   “And they are...?” I said, sticking my hands into the pockets of my navy blue shorts. He held out two fingers, pointing to one.

   “First thing; We’re a team, so you can’t take all the credit, and two,” He pointed to the other finger,  “You still haven’t asked me anything.” I swallowed hard. 

   “I-I did. I, uh, I asked you to come meet me out here and go for a, um, nice walk. And now here we are!” I gave him my worst forced smile and cringed at my horrible acting. As a result, he gifted me with a scathing Are-you-kidding-me lowbrow expression. 

   “Fine. Can we sit then?” I said. We stooped down and claimed spots beside each other on the sand, far enough away from the water so that it couldn’t reach us. Our legs stretched out before us, we sat in silence while I rummaged about in my head for the right words to say. I sighed as I was unable to find a single one. 

   “So, the thing is... I wanted to know if you, um...” 

   “You wanted to know...?” My regret shouted at me from the depths of my mind. It shamed me for dragging him all the way out here, wasting his time like the idiot I was. It warned me that I would make an even bigger fool of myself if I tried to go on. Who was I to disagree?  _ That’s it, let the doubt in. You can still save yourself. Leave, run away, don’t be stupid.  _ I wanted to curse myself for allowing this to happen. The voices were right and I had to get as far away from here as I could while I still had some shreds of dignity left. Now my throat felt parched and uncomfortably tight, the voices rising in intensity.  _ What’s this? Are you gonna cry now? You’re pathetic, you’d might as well-- _

   “Are you okay?” Shiro’s voice was like a ray of light piercing through the heavy clouds of fear that filled my mind. I turned to look at him and opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I shrunk back into myself even more. Concern softened Shiro’s features, easing my fraying nerves just a little. 

   “No,” I admitted glumly. 

   “Did someone do something to you? Did you break another one of Coran’s sculpture’s? I know he can be scary when he’s mad but in all honesty, he’s just full of hot air.” A weak laugh left my mouth and I gave Shiro a joking push to his arm. 

   “Is anyone really scared of him?” I asked.

   “Hunk is. He really believes Coran’s ‘Tales from the Void’ about those who cross him one time too many.”

   “Why am I not surprised?”

   “Because Hunk is Hunk. Why else?” 

   “Aw, I know. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt, though. He can’t help that he has a wild imagination.” 

   “And I can’t help but wonder why you really asked me to come here tonight.” Shiro said, his eyes boring straight into me. 

   “Guess I can’t fool you, huh.” 

   “No, but I applaud your effort.” I combed my fingers through my hair and tilted my head back to take in the clouded night sky above me. After bringing my hands down flat against the sand, I prepared myself to cross into the threshold of the unknown. 

   “I’m not gonna lie, I’m scared out of my mind right now. I, uh, I try to act like I always know what to do and what to say, but truthfully, that's all it is; an act. I’m just a guy who’s afraid of his feelings and masks them like some coward.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “When I first met you, I was kind of jealous. I hated how everyone looked up to you.”

   “Seriously?” Shiro asked, shifting his hands in the sand to better support himself. 

   “Seriously. When Pidge, Hunk and I were all together in school, I was our ‘leader’, more or less. I gave the mission briefings during training exercises, I barked the orders, I concocted all of our hair-brained pranks. Then you come in with your... Hoity-toity self, acting like you owned the place.”

   “‘Hoity-toity?’”

   “Don’t laugh, that’s really what I thought!” I claimed in a less than convincing tone.

   “Ok, first of all, I was _barely_ _ conscious  _ when we first ‘met’, and secondly, I can laugh at you all I want.” I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

   “Whatever you say. Anyway, I found myself hating you less and less as I got to know you. And now... I don’t hate you at all, not even a little.” My voice faltered and I gulped while reminding myself that I needed to do this and that maybe I wasn’t making the biggest mistake of my life. Shiro only stared back at me quietly, hanging onto my every word.

   “The thing is, Shiro, I-I don’t want to know you as just my teammate,” I begged and pleaded with my heart to slow down or I’d draw my last breath right then and there. The sound of its thumping seemed to be right in my ears, drowning out nearly everything else. “I don’t want be just someone who fights alongside you. I don’t want to you to see me as a good friend, neither as your best one. Anyone can be that for you. I... I want to be the only one for you. I guess what I wanted to ask was if... You’d let me?” My eyes searched desperately for any trace of emotion on his face, but he was absolutely unreadable. I waited in agony for him to say something,  _ anything _ . Is this what’s supposed to happen when you pour yourself out to someone? They stare at you like your head was missing and then that’s the end? My vision clouded with hot tears and I hurriedly turned my head to the other side, blinking them away furiously.  _ I fucked it up, I fucked it all up.  _ I resolved myself to stand and leave when a strange warmth covered my hand. I refused to believe that my escape was thwarted by the man who I’d revealed my most closely guarded secret to. His hand had latched itself onto mine and didn’t seem to be letting go. 

   “Lance.” My name sounded distant and foreign coming from him so softly. “I’m going to be honest with you, and I need you to listen to me.”  _ It’s over. You tried. Get ready.  _ “You seem to not understand something.” He held my hand tighter. “You have to stop thinking so much and learn to trust yourself, no matter what happens.”  _ He’s letting you down easy, how thoughtful.  _ “You’ll do nothing but worry yourself to death. You’re no good to me dead.”  _...What?  _ “Forget about being selfish, you _can_ be a good friend, even my best one and more. You can because I want you to be. Do you understand now?” I was beside myself. The sand wasn’t real, the moon was a figment of my imagination, the water was a delusion. It just had to be. 

   “I-I think so.”  _ It’s all you now.  _ “I want to ask you something else, first, so I can be sure.” He let up the pressure on my hand and nodded warmly. I felt like I was floating with the stars above us. “Would you, um, would you let me kiss you?” Shiro moved closer to me until I could feel his body heat radiating from him. His hand that wasn’t holding mine rested first on my cheek, then found a place on the back on my neck. I was drunk on his very presence. 

   “ _ I want you to. _ ” Fear, regret, and doubt be damned. Not an ounce of me cared to be bother by them when I leaned forward and discovered the novel feeling of his lips moving against mine. They felt so supple and warm, instilling in me a solace I never knew I needed. My tongue ventured out to touch his lips, seeking his open mouth. I was inexperienced, but I wanted to learn what it felt like to be with someone this way. Someone that  _ wanted  _ me. He understood my actions and let me in, sighing. I placed my hand on his chest and gave myself to him as much as I knew how.  _ There’s no going back, it’s done. Don’t worry, you won’t have to now. Don’t worry.  _ I was cradled by hope, enveloped in it. I wanted to kiss him forever, but I ran out of breath well before that. I slipped my other hand out from his and pulled him into me for an embrace that meant so much more to me than words could ever describe. 

   “Shiro, I’m so sorry for being such a mess. I didn’t know what you’d say and it made me afraid that I would ruin everything.” 

   “You don’t have to be sorry anymore. You don’t have to be scared. I won’t let you be.” I squeezed him tighter and miraculously held back tears that brimmed around my eyes. 

   “Okay.” I whispered. This  _ was  _ real. The clouds in my mind had vanished and freed me to fill it with all the possibilities that lay before us. They were endless and I was more than ready to experience them with someone who wanted me and everything that I was.


End file.
